Justice For Carlee Wines

March 01, 2007

It is fitting that New York authorities investigate an alleged conspiracy to cover up the hit-and-run death of a University of Connecticut freshman, Carlee Wines. Affidavits obtained by UConn police present damning information against the parents of one of the students arrested in the case. Justice demands that the truth be pursued.

Ms. Wines, 19, was struck while crossing the street near the chemistry building in Storrs Jan. 20 and later died. The driver fled. UConn police did remarkable work in tracking down the vehicle that struck her, a 2004 Nissan Armada. Deft detective work has led to five arrests so far.

Anthony Alvino, 18, then a student at St. Bonaventure University in upstate New York, was the alleged driver and faces many charges, including misconduct with a motor vehicle resulting in death and evading responsibility. His girlfriend, Michele Hall, 18, a UConn freshman, was allegedly in the passenger seat and was arrested on eight charges, including aiding and abetting evading responsibility. A third student, Kara Satalin, was charged with buying alcohol for the other two. Two UConn students, Matthew D. Gallo, 20, and Kenneth L. Rusterholz, 21, have been charged with serving keg beer at an off-campus party attended by those in the car that hit Ms. Wines.

Police affidavits and information from passengers in the Alvino vehicle outline a disturbing chronicle of partying, drinking and failure of the people in the car to live up to their responsibilities. It got worse with the reported intervention of Mr. Alvino's parents.

According to information obtained by police, after Mr. Alvino and two friends had returned to St. Bonaventure, Anthony and Donna Alvino drove from their home on Long Island to Olean, N.Y., where the university is located. They allegedly counseled their son's two friends, who were passengers in the car when Ms. Wines was hit, to not tell anyone, not even their parents, about the accident. Mrs. Alvino reportedly said she had a mechanic friend who would fix the car and ``have it detailed so that no one would be able to tell that it was involved in the incident.''

After the meeting, the damaged Nissan reportedly was driven to Long Island. Ultimately, it was turned over to UConn police by a lawyer for the Alvinos after police posted a notice on a national law enforcement database that they were looking for such a car.

This is a horrible story by any measure. Not only was a lovely young woman left to die in the road, but the lives of several other young people are irretrievably altered. Mr. Alvino's parents have not done their son a favor by trying to protect him. Their involvement in shielding the truth, if substantiated by investigators, warrants prosecution -- and prison, if there is a conviction. A cover-up turns a tragic accident into a calculated crime.